BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it is on track to meet or exceed a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012.
EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas says this shows that Europe "can be relied on to deliver" the reductions it promised as part of the U.N. Kyoto Protocol in 2002.
He says it also is "a very important and timely signal" for next month's international climate change talks in Copenhagen, where the EU wants the U.S., China and other nations to pledge ambitious CO2 cuts that could curb global warming.
The EU's 27 nations already have vowed to slash emissions by 20 percent by 2020, and say they will step that up to 30 percent, if other countries sign up to reductions.
